


begin again

by dreamersball



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, AtLA, Bisexual Ty Lee, Blind Date, F/F, High School, Matchmaking, Taylor Swift - Freeform, dorky azula, tyzula baby!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:48:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26375242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamersball/pseuds/dreamersball
Summary: azula was different than any other person ty lee had met.blind date.tyzula high school.
Relationships: Azula/Ty Lee (Avatar)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 117





	begin again

**Author's Note:**

> got inspired by yet another taylor swift song- begin again. matchmaking and blind dates galore. i own nothing.

ty lee didn’t have luck with love. it was no secret that she had a bubbly, loving exterior. she was the kindest girl anyone has met- as her pink aura touched each soul she graced. 

  
  


her best friend suki swore she had the purest soul that was ever born- and sokka agreed that she was probably nicer than the moon spirit. and that’s saying something, sokka was extremely attached to the moon spirit for whatever reason.

  
  


besides being a naturally sweet person, ty lee had the best job. she worked with children, teaching them how to do gymnastics. she also volunteered at the zoo when needed (specializing with the flying lemurs of course), and gave money to those in need whenever she could. 

  
  


she was also going to university on scholarship; a free ride to Ba Sing Se University for gymnastics. she was planning to be a psychology major and a therapist one day. she liked the idea of making a change, no matter how small. 

  
  


but, that didn’t translate into a relationship. in fact, ty lee had zero luck in keeping people with her. her big heart got her scarred and in trouble rather than in love, and she was getting tired of it.

  
  


her latest heartbreak had her on the bathroom floor, wheezing for air. suki, after pounding on her door for what felt like hours, finally broke it down to find the gymnast clutching her chest and gripping her cell phone tightly. 

  
  


(suki had held ty lee on the bathroom floor while the girl cried and cried)

  
  


(sokka found them and wrapped a blanket around ty lee and swore he would kick the ass of whoever broke her heart) 

  
  


(ty lee wondered if she could die from a broken heart while suki whispered  _ i love you _ over and over, kissing the gymnasts messy hair)

  
  


her latest ex in a long line of lovers was a boy named wan. the pair had been dating for nearly a year- which didn’t seem like a lot, but ty lee was invested in the relationship. she was determined to make this one last. at first, wan was kind and charismatic like they all are, but after finding out he was cheating on ty lee with a girl named kya through video evidence; ty lee couldn’t breathe.

  
  


was it worth it to keep falling only to keep bruising? to keep bleeding out? to keep losing the air in your lungs? for someone who doesn’t care for her like she does for them? 

  
  


she was  _ so tired  _ of breaking down and glueing herself back together.

  
  


she buried herself into suki’s now damp t-shirt, crying out of pain and pure heartbreak.

—-

suki quietly tiptoed out of her bedroom, closing the door softly with a tiny  _ click.  _ she had tucked the now sleeping ty lee into her bed, after giving her fresh clothes and a makeup wipe for her face. the gymnast, exhausted herself of emotion and tears, was napping in suki’s bed.

  
  


sokka was leaning against the opposite wall in the hallway, waiting for suki to come out.

  
  


“so what do we do?” he said, looking concerned and equally upset with the news of the breakup.

  
  


suki sighed. this wasn’t the first time ty lee had been broken up with, leaving suki to pick up the pieces. but it certainly was one of the worst. wan seemed like such a caring and genuine guy- only to commit the ultimate sin in a relationship. chan has been a burnout from the start, yue was a three month fling that ended up treating ty lee like shit; and jin was a terrible girl who used ty lee for two years.

  
  


the poor gymnast had been through the ringer of emotional turmoil and trauma, and she hadn’t even entered her freshman year of college yet. it’s a good thing suki was her roommate though, the women’s studies major would kick the ass of anyone who dared hurt her best friend.

  
  


(and sokka, but he was in a different dorm and frankly let suki take over when it was ass-kicking time) 

  
  


suki pushed the hair off her forehead, and with her free hand she leaned against the wall. what was there to do when everything seemed to fall apart?

  
  


_ pull it together suki. you’re not the heartbroken one. _

  
  


she chewed on her lip thoughtfully, arms crossed against her chest.. 

  
  


“what’s that saying that you and toph used to have about heartbreaks?” she asked.

  
  


sokka scratched his head. “bag it before you tap it?”

  
  


“no. the other one.”

  
  


“oh yeah! the best way to get over someone is get  _ under  _ someone!” he said gleefully.

  
  


suki smacked her head softly. “ _ no. _ the one about starting over. the nicer  _ romantic  _ one.”

  
  


sokka nodded. “oh yeah, the best way to get through a heartbreak is to start clean, on a blind date.” 

  
  


he paused a moment, eyebrows furrowed. “you know, now that i think about it, i think toph was just making a blind joke.”

  
  


suki rolled her eyes. but, her boyfriend was right. about the blind date. but probably also the toph thing too. 

“i think that’s what ‘lee needs. a new start. you still talk to zuko?”

  
  


sokka blushed at the name of his best friend/not so secret past crush. “yeah, what’s it to you?”.

  
  


“not like  _ that.  _ doesn’t he have a younger sister? a cute, gay one?” 

  
  


her boyfriend looked at her in disbelief. “suki, you are a certified genius!” he said, and he threw his arms around her neck, covering her with kisses.

  
  


suki giggled, holding onto her goofy boyfriend. “yeah, yeah i know plan-guy. you’ve taught me well.”.

  
  


the two sat there embraced, sokka hugging his girlfriend while suki pondered on what was the best route to take with this delicate first date. 

——

“ _ azula? _ are you sure? she hasn’t had a girlfriend in awhile.” zuko said, sipping his tea thoughtfully.

  
  


the pair were at the  _ Jasmine Dragon,  _ zuko’s uncle's tea shoppe. sokka had taken ty lee out on a shopping trip, so suki decided to tackle the blind-date plan alone. 

  
  


suki narrowed her eyes, playing with the tea cup in her hands. “and why is that? what has she done? is she mentally fit for a wonderful girl like ty lee?”

  
  


zuko frowned heavily, putting his cup down forcefully. tea splashed out, and out of the corner of her eye, suki could see uncle iroh look disgruntled over split tea. 

  
  


the teenage boy balled his fists, his gold eyes narrowed. “ _ yes,  _ she’s mentally fit, and she’s done  _ nothing.  _ she is just a girl who’s too eager and gets taken advantage of easily. but she’s  _ my _ sister and i love her endlessly.” 

  
  


suki held her hands up in mock surrender. “hey, hey, had to make sure all was well. i don’t want anyone to hurt ty lee again, just like you with your sister. so, whattya say, we set em up on a blind date?” she said, hopefully sounding more confident then she felt.

  
  


(the teenager was kind of intimidating when mad).

  
  


zuko relaxed, picking up his cup again. “i see. well, i don’t suppose it would hurt. azula has been yearning over fictional women in her books again,” he said thoughtfully.

  
  


suki nodded her head. “ah, yes. sapphic yearning. i’ll drink to that”.

  
  


the pair clinked tea cups, and began working on a blind date for the pair. 

—-

ty lee pushed through the cafe door, the bells above the frame tinkling softly. 

  
  


despite her reservations and aching heart, she still felt those similar butterflies stirring in her stomach. why wouldn’t she ? it was a date after all. a first date at that. 

  
  


but like suki warned her before she left- stay alert, and on guard. don’t give her heart away within the first few moments. 

  
  


( _ especially if they’re really hot  _ sokka reminded her)

  
  


it was a blind date, unfortunately, but suki and sokka swore up and down that  _ this one was going to be good!  _

  
  


well how good could a randomly set up date by her friends be? she loved them, but they also set her up with yue; and that didn’t work out.

  
  


(they miscalculated that yue actually wanted to date sokka, not ty lee) 

  
  


but that was the past; and now ty lee is sitting in a corner booth of the  _ Turtleduck Cafe.  _ coincidentally, it was her favorite cafe to do homework and study at. the trio holed themselves in this cafe every semester, agonizing over defense and history finals. whoever she was meeting with had good taste. 

  
  


ty lee picked at her chenille pink sweater cuff, kicking her feet lightly against the table stem. she was nervous, and the constant tinkling of the doorbells didn’t help. she knew she was looking for a girl named azula. that’s all sokka and suki would tell her.

  
  


finally, after what seemed like hours, the door finally chimed again, a girl walking in. she was taller than ty lee, probably by a few inches. she had black hair that was straightened neatly, and bright eyes. she had light makeup on, and was wearing black ripped jeans and an oversized red sweater. the look was completed by a necklace with a small crown charm and several gold rings on her fingers. the girl was smiling nervously, playing with her sleeve cuffs. 

  
  


(just like ty lee)

  
  


the girl craned her neck, obviously looking for someone. she zeroed in on ty lee, her smile growing bigger once they locked eyes. she hurriedly made her way over to the corner booth, stumbling slightly in what looked like oversized doc martens.

  
  


(ty lee giggled. the girl was kind of a dork)

  
  


the girl stood in front of ty lee, sticking her hand out.

  
  


“hello! i’m azula! but you can call me ‘zula, if you’d like. whatever makes you comfortable,” the girl stuttered slightly, blushing across her cheeks.

  
  


ty lee smiled, shaking the girls hand firmly. “i’m ty lee, though i believe you already knew that. take a seat why don’t you?” she crooned softly. 

  
  


the girl slid in the seat across from ty lee, nearly clasping her hands. ty lee saw that the girl had big golden eyes that looked to be flecked with actual gold, and she knew she was in trouble. 

  
  


azula bit her lip, and frowned a little. 

  
  


“i know i was late, so i don’t want you to pay for a thing. i’ll cover it all. right now, i just want to get to know you. the real you. i’m all ears, i swear on agni!” the girl said, crossing her fingers for show and grinning cheesily. 

  
  


(ty lee was in big trouble). 

  
  


the gymnast cleared her throat, and waved the wandering waitress over. 

  
  


“i suppose we will have to get some drinks and food first. do you like jasmine tea?”

  
  


the girl smiled cheekily at her. “oh boy, do i ty lee”. 

—-

azula laughed like a breath of warm summer air, and smiled like she was the sun itself. she always listened to ty lee with wide eyes and let the gymnast finish talking before responding. azula certainly didn’t understand how important that was to ty lee, but ty lee understood. she felt it. 

  
  


though ty lee was obviously shy and reserved for a reason, azula didn’t mention it. the girl leaned forward every time ty lee spoke, clinging onto every word. the passion in azula’s eyes was so strong; but ty lee felt herself melting into those aureus eyes. 

  
  


in fact, azula made sure ty lee’s order was correct before the waitress walked away, and always thanked the waitress profusely.

  
  


azula even laughed at ty lee’s jokes and stories. she threw her head back and laughed, her gold eyes crinkled up, her hands covering her beautiful lips. it was such a beautiful laugh. 

  
  


_ you’re really witty ty lee, you know that?  _

  
  


which was odd, because no one ever thought ty lee was funny. or witty at that. chan certainly never did. 

  
  


but azula did.

  
  


and when ty lee started to get excited about gymnastics and the wonders of tumbling, before she could tell herself to get a grip, azula urged her to continue. the girl even asked questions about flips, about meets, and if she could see ty lee perform in one.

  
  


that was also odd, because none of her past lovers had ever attempted to go see a competition of ty lee’s. granted, they were long and full day events that often were on weekends or even week nights. 

  
  


but azula was willing to. eager even.

  
  


when ty lee admitted she was allergic to the almonds in azula’s salad, the girl immediately called the waitress over and asked for a different meal. 

  
  


(who does that? so quickly for someone they barely know?)

  
  


azula did.

  
  


ty lee felt the urge to talk about her past relationships, how she was a danger to all around, a poison, a toxin. she felt the need to warn this girl that she wasn’t a forever girl - the type of girl you could love. she almost brought it up. 

  
  


but before she could, azula started talking about her passion in reading. how she would get lost for hours in a good book in her family’s library, and how writers influenced her life. how flipping book pages made her fall in love with people, with women; how she felt seen in a good novel. how she would love to read her favorite poetry to ty lee, and discuss her favorite literary theories. 

  
  


(azula’s eyes glowed with pride and joy, her hands balled up in excitement, her smile infectious) 

  
  


(ty lee felt her heart melt, and she knew what was past, is past). 

  
  


because on a wednesday, in a cafe, she watched it begin again. 

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> hello! it's been awhile, i apologize for my absence. i've been writing between classwork. i will have more up soon!  
> also, dorky azula rights. thank you for reading!


End file.
